BY David Lewis
BUDAPEST, Reuter: The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) said on Friday it was introducing random dope testing in a bid to clean up the sport’s image after the Seoul Olympics.
Repeated cases of doping in any country would result in the national weightlifting body being expelled from the IWF, general secretary Tamas Ajan said.
Half the 10 positive dope tests at the Olympic Games concerned weightlifters. Among those disqualified were two Gold Medalist Bulgarians Mitko Grabley and Angel Guenchey — and Hungarian Silver ‘Medalist Andor Csengeni
“From January 1, we will take random tests any time, any place, in any country,” Ajan told a news conference. “If somebody we test is positive, we will punish the countries, not just the lifter.
“Maybe we will have fewer members but they will be clean.”
The IWF would examine reports on the five positive tests from Seoul at a special executive board meeting in Budapest on November 15 and 16 and would consider list of tough new measures to combat doping, IWF President Gottfried Schoedl said,
But Schoedl Said weightlifting should not be singled out as the problem of doping existed in other sports.
“Doping is really not a synonym for weightlifting. Doping is a general problem in sport,” he said.
“Forget for a few moments the word doping…We witnessed in Seoul the most perfect Olympic Games in our sport,” Schodl added.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 28, 1988
